South Bay Democratic Rep. Mike Honda, who’s battling for an eighth term in one of the country’s most competitive House races, will not participate in the only pre-primary debate organized to date in the Silicon Valley district — one which would put him toe-to-toe with Democratic opponent Ro Khanna.

Three Bay Area media outlets — the San Francisco Chronicle, KPIX-TV and KCBS radio — have jointly invited the leading candidates in the CD-17 race, Honda, Khanna and Republican candidate Vanila Singh to a 90-minute debate. They have provided three possible dates — April 16, 17 or 23.

So far, only Khanna, a former Obama Administration trade representative, has formally accepted.
Scott Luginbill, campaign manager for GOP physician Singh, said she is “absolutely considering” participating in the debate, but has not made a final decision.

“Our goal is to provide voters with an opportunity to compare the candidates and their agendas in an unfiltered, in-depth discussion,” said editorial page editor John Diaz, in the invite. “The debate would be live-streamed and then posted on our respective news websites through the election season.”

The debate, to be held at KPIX studios, would give each candidate an opportunity to make a 90-second opening and closing statement. A six-member panel would include three representatives from The Chronicle, two from KPIX and one from KCBS.

“We also intend to give candidates a chance to ask each other questions, and include questions submitted by voters,” said Diaz, who said that for the Chronicle, the debate will serve as the paper’s pre-endorsement meeting for Congressional District 17.

Diaz said that the Chronicle’s editorial board “believes this is a golden opportunity to provide not only depth to the campaign, but transparency for its endorsement process.” Chronicle panelists will include the paper’s Publisher Jeffrey M. Johnson, Diaz and Deputy Editorial Page Editor Lois Kazakoff.

Rep. Mike Honda

Rep. Mike Honda turned down invite

“Residents of the 17th district will benefit from an open debate, moderated by members of the local media, about who is the best candidate to address the unique challenges and opportunities facing our community,” said Khanna Monday, in a statement announcing his intention to accept the invite. “Voters are tired of old-style politics and campaigns that consist of little more than sloganeering and demagoguery. With the challenges our nation faces today, the people deserve better.”

Honda, however, turned it down. “Congressman Mike Honda will be at the May 3 debate organized by the non-partisan, community-based, League of Women Voters,” said Vivek Kembaiyan, the Honda campaign spokesman.

But even the League’s Gloria Chun Hoo, an organizer of hour-long candidates’ forum at Fremont City Hall, said that May 3 event “is not intended to be a debate.”

Ro Khanna has accepted

She said that the forum allows all five CD-17 candidates to respond to the same pre-screened questions. There will be no opportunity for candidates to challenge each other, and candidates will not be asked follow-up questions.

Failure to debate could be an issue in 2014 June primary race between Democrats Honda and Khanna, which has been described as a generational battle pitting labor against tech — as well as an aggressive fundraising battle.

Honda, 72, a 7-term Congressman, has the endorsement of labor, the California Democratic Party, and most of the House Democratic delegation in his bid for re-election.

Will GOP candidate Vanila Singh show up?

Khanna, 37, has the endorsement of many of Silicon Valley’s top leaders — including Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer — as well as elected officials who include Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. To date, Khanna holds a 4-1 cash advantage over Honda in fundraising.

Singh, 42, a doctor at Stanford University, is making her first run for public office. Should she sidestep a debate, the question of “not ready for prime time” could be raised.

Diaz said he has asked the Honda campaign whether the Congressman himself has turned down the invite to debate — or whether the move was a decision of his campaign staff.

“This is a lost opportunity for voters to have a substantive look at the candidates and their agendas, and to open an important element of our endorsement process to the public scrutiny,” Diaz said today. “Voters could have decided for themselves if we asked the right questions and were fair to the candidates.”

“If this denial of a chance for greater political transparency is the judgment of Congressman Honda — and not the strategists who work for him — I trust he will reconsider.”